Familiarity
by Moki Hunter
Summary: A collection of oneshot responses to the daily prompts/themes of Phanniemay 2014, to be updated as regularly as possible until the end of the month.
1. Space

_AN: So this is my contribution to Phanniemay, and forgive me for not updating my other stories in a while. I promise I will eventually update them. This is going to be a series of oneshots based on the prompts/themes given each day on the Phanniemay Calendar. I'm going to try my best to complete them all, but between school any other stuff, we'll see how well that goes, haha. Also, forgive me if there are any typos, as I wrote this on my iPad. Anyway, enjoy! Reviews are always greatly appreciated! :3_

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__**Day 1: Space**

The atmosphere was bristling with an underlying energy. It seemed, indeed, as though the heavens could burst with unforetold energy in a single and irreplaceable moment. A shadowed figure contributed to the electric air, and it stood in contrast to the darkened midnight sky. There, on the rooftop of his home, stood the renown hero - and sometimes villain - of Amity Park. His name was Danny Fenton, and he... He was a ghost. A halfa.

The people of his hometown had long since debated just which side he was on. Many accused him of horrendous crimes, while others saw his true nature; he was a protector. Danny knew in his heart that he would do anything for Amity. There was no room for doubt when it came to this. He would die for his family, his friends, his city... but sometimes the insults still stung. They wrenched his half dead heart from its place and threatened to kill it entirely. He felt the stab of pain each time his own parents hunted him tirelessly, or a friend he once thought he could become something more with - Valerie Gray - threaten to end his existence. He knew innately, of course, that should he decide it, if he told them his secret... Things would be very different. The ones he trusted wouldn't hunt him, and he could feel at peace and eternally happy. But happiness was in the eye of the beholder, and for now he was perfectly content with his secret only being known to a select few. His friends and his sister already carried the burden of knowing, and though they prodded him and attempted to influence his choice in the matter of telling at least his parents, always Danny refused.

He was half human, half ghost. And that was something that Sam always told him he was unique for. He sometimes wondered, looking at the stars above, what his life would be like had the accident never happened. Would he be doing well in school, despite how hard Lancer was on him? Would he feel the need to get involved in ghosts, if he didn't feel so responsible for them and Amity? He sometimes wondered... If he'd even be himself.

Danny had always dreamed of being an astronaut. Ever since he was little, this idea had been ingrained in him. He'd grasped onto the hope and never let it go, even after the incident that changed his DNA and half killed him. Even after all the ghost fights, the worry he would lose his loved ones, and seeing a future where things were bleak and he had turned into a person - or ghost, to be more accurate - that he didn't even recognize. And even after he had sworn an oath never to become something evil, something bad... Even after he promised never to give up on Amity Park... He still had that dream. It was always in the back of his mind, and it was always something he someday wanted to accomplish.

He still stood on top of the ops center, his ash colored hair swaying along with the breeze that had just recently formed. The cool air seemed to calm the restless energy underneath the surface of the sky, and Danny reveled in it. He opened his eyes, then, his crystalline blue irises tracing the stars, forming the constellations he knew now by heart.

Despite his responsibilities and the never ending dangers lurking just beyond the corner, Danny would always have time for this. He would always find a way to take in this view, to breathe in this air. To watch as the sun set beyond the horizon and gave way to a plump and radiant moon, with twinkling orbs of fire people liked to call stars surrounding it, all set against a midnight blue sky. The effect of it was... Indescribable. It filled Danny's heart with a warmth he couldn't explain, and it made him appreciate the small things of life, as well as those he could never replace.

Suddenly, an urge coursed through his system. His blood pumped through his veins at a sort of rush that could only be described as adrenaline, and a feeling came over him of pure and unbridled impulse. He jumped off the roof.

A wash of bright rings appeared around his torso, illuminating his free-falling body and transforming him into the powerful ghost that most of Amity Park's citizens had come to recognize and admire. The pavement below came rushing towards Danny's vision, blurring his senses as he stopped just short of it. With a whisk of that beautiful breeze, Phantom soared in pursuit of the heavens. He floated endlessly across the atmosphere, the one charged with unknown energy and flooding with hidden power. And he marveled in its wonders. Indeed, he still wanted to be an astronaut. Because though he would never give up his responsibilities as a protector of Amity Park as well, he could still dare to dream of those gorgeous stars, that succulent moon across the sky, and of the planets far away that he could only ever hope to see up close and personal. To dream... Of the great expanse of space. Unknown, untempered, and infinitely alive, just as he felt in his soul.


	2. Favorite Episode

_AN: Darn, I'm falling behind already. Ugggggh. ): Well, better late than never I suppose? I do plan on doing the other prompts I've missed too. When I post them, though, is another story, haha. I've never updated more than once in one day, but if I don't, then I won't catch up and finish by May 30... Decisions, decisions. Oh well. xD Anyway, this prompt is favorite episode. Mine happens to be D-Stabilized, so here you have a scenario that would have happened soon after Danny and Valerie part ways. I was going to continue this, but... after asking a few others, I determined that it's fine the way I left it. Anyway, enough of my rambling. Enjoy!_

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**Day 2: Favorite Episode**

The wind was lapping at his hair again, throwing his white locks against the darkened sky. A truce… with Valerie. Huh. That wasn't something he had expected. He wasn't complaining of course, but… still. A smile crossed the halfa's face, then. Danny sure had been surprised, and he'd taken the truce happily. But he couldn't help but wonder where they would go from here. Valerie had said she'd continue to hunt him but… would she really?

He desperately hoped it would never have to return to that. The constant bickering between them as she blasted him with some new ecto-weapon, and he attempted to dodge without hurting her because he actually knew who she was. She… she was only doing what she thought was right. She truly believed that ghosts are scum. If tonight was any indicator, she had nearly allowed Vlad to melt Dani down because of her ghost side. Once she accepted it, she was willing to do anything to help her, but she still thought ghosts… full ghosts… were nothing more than scum. It was… disconcerting, to say the least.

Danny always hoped for more than he knew was possible. He'd been a dreamer since his childhood, and he wasn't expecting that part of him to die – even though, admittedly, he'd already technically half died – any time soon. He was the person who saw the best in others, who gave them second chances even if they didn't deserve it. And as much as Danny denied he was a hero, and as much as Sam and Tucker insisted he was wrong, that was a part of him that truly separated him from the rest of the world. He was willing to forgive. Never forget. But forgive, always. If someone was worth saving, Danny would do anything in his power to make sure they were saved. The only person who had ever come under this exception – the only human, anyway – was Vlad Masters.

The more he thought about it, the more he felt selfish, though. Because as much as he appreciated Valerie's friendship when he was Fenton, and although he always made sure never to fight back, Valerie still believed he was a full ghost, evil scum. And he felt selfish because… well… because he let her believe it. He let her become this… Red Huntress. He'd allowed it to happen. Where was Valerie's second chance, then? It was gone. Along with that half of him that was now dead, so was Valerie's innocence. She would never believe ghosts were good. She would never come to understand that not all ghosts were evil… and it reminded Danny bitterly of his parents.

He knew, deep down, that his parents would accept him no matter what. He even had proof of it, should he ever have been doubtful. It had happened time and time again where reality bent itself to a shape where he could see a world in which his parents knew his secret and didn't reject him. Where they still loved him no matter what. But even despite that… he could never truly judge that they had accepted all ghosts. Perhaps a bit, because if they truly still believed all ghosts were evil, even after finding out about their son, they would have pulled the trigger on any of their ecto-weapons and shot him into oblivion. They would have believed their son wasn't worth saving because there was nothing left to save in the first place. That in their son's place was a good for nothing ghost.

And that scared Danny more than he would like to admit. The lingering doubt that even if his parents accepted him for his being a halfa, they would still never accept that his ghost half wasn't… evil. That even if they said he wasn't, they'd be thinking differently. And treating Valerie to a similar fate only made Danny feel guiltier. Should he tell her the truth? Would it even be worth it?

If he still hadn't told his own parents… what on earth made him think that telling Valerie was a good idea? Well… it wasn't, really, unless he got her to see the truth before. He needed her to believe, just for a moment, that some ghosts could truly be good. He desperately craved to change her mindset… his parents' mindset… and Valerie was the first step.

With not another thought, the teen flipped backwards, changing his course midair, heading straight for the spot he had just departed from. It was time to let old grudges go… and it was time to give Valerie a second chance.


End file.
